Head’s affair with pupil, 18

AN ancient Greek trading ship from 400BC found under the Black Sea is the world’s oldest intact shipwreck.

The 75ft vessel with its mast, rudders and rowing benches still in place was discovered off the coast of Bulgaria using a probe piloted by British scientists.

It lies 7,000ft down and is in such good condition because bacteria which decays timber cannot survive without oxygen, which is absent at such depths. Experts hope its cargo is also intact.

Researchers are stunned how similar the find is to a ship depicted on the Siren Vase at the British Museum, which shows mythical hero Odysseus tied to the mast.

The 2,400-year-old galley was one of a fleet of trading ships supplying Greek colonies on the Black Sea.

Dr Helen Farr of the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project said: “You see this ship appear in the light at the bottom so perfectly preserved it feels like you step back in time. It’s like another world.”

The project, led by the University of Southampton, has turned up 67 wrecks including Roman trading ships and a 17th Century Cossack raiding fleet.

Chief scientist Jon Adams said: “This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world.” A MARRIED headteacher had an affair with a female pupil he kissed in his classroom, a tribunal has heard.

John Tomsett, 54, is accused of gross misconduct after the woman said he seduced her aged 18.

The Teaching Agency heard he had a sexual relationship with the woman, now in her 40s, while teaching her at Eastbourne Sixth Form College in 1990.

Tomsett, now head of Huntington School in York, admits the affair but denies it was misconduct.

IN THE DEEP Probe finds wreck and, below, vase